My financial advisor tells me his Audio Analogue 'Puccini' SE amplifier has started to distort on one channel only, when the volume control is advanced beyond a quiet listening level.

I have to confess I hadn't heard of Audio Analogue, but it turns out they are an Italian company that make amplifiers that receive very good reviews, yet represent very good value for money.

Doing a little research reveals the cause of the problem might be a dirty track of the volume control potentiometer. However these are sealed (they look to be Alps), so giving it a squirt of switch cleaner will be difficult, as would drilling a small hole in the Alps unit.

Also I understand the amplifier contains several fuses, some of which are in the signal path (as protection against speaker short circuits). These, over time, can suffer contact corrosion
and distort.

I should add the amplifier is well over 10 years old, so both distortion causes are possible.

Does anyone here use this amplifier, and can offer any advice concerning this problem?

Thanks